1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the conveying of flowable media, and, in particular, to the conveying of such flowable media using gas evolution cells.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to German patent DE-PS 35 32 335.3, it is known in the art to convey technical or industrial fats using fat injectors powered by hydrogen evolution cells in ball and roller bearings. There are also infusers for injection or infusion of medical liquids, which are driven mechanically by gas evolution cells. In such devices, a constant or regulated electrical current in the gas evolution cell generates a gas volume stream that is proportional to this electrical current. The generating gas displaces a piston out of the working space of a cylinder in whose conveying space the medium to be conveyed, usually a paste or a liquid, is located. Since the gas evolution is proportional to the cell current such devices can be regulated and controlled very simply by varying the closing resistance of the cell.
In the hydrogen evolution cell described in German patent DE-PS 35 32 335.3, the hydrogen is generated by precipitation on a cathode with a hydrophilic/hydrophobic pore structure. The anode is zinc. The electrolyte is a potassium and sodium hydroxide solution. The gas evolution is limited by confining the electrochemical processes to the electrode. The cell current, the highest possible gas generation rate, and the maximal conveying rate of paste or liquid are all limited by this confined gas evolution. For higher conveying rates, larger gas evolution cells may be constructed and used or cells for parallel gas generation can be connected in series by known methods, but these involve increased costs. The increase and multiplication of the gas generation rate is the task of this invention.
Further aspects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.